Nissan LEAF Sales Surge To Almost 7,000 In September

After releasing data on the largest missing puzzle piece – the Japanese figure for Nissan LEAF sales in September – we can finally note a new world record.

Nissan delivered last month almost 7,000 electric cars.

Everything began with a strong 2,881 in the U.S., supported by a record of 1,986 in Europe and one of the highest numbers in Japan: 1,756.

This is enough for 6,623 in total, but we believe that the real number is higher as LEAF is sold worldwide. If we include e-NV200, Nissan is almost for sure above the 7,000-unit mark for all-electric cars in a month or 84,000 a year if we times this by 12.

Probably no other manufacturer can boast even exceeding the mark of 3,000 BEVs sold in a single month.

Consumers in general are getting it. Electric cars work for every 2 car family provided that they have access to a charging port. At just below $30k the cost of ownership on an annual basis over 5 years averaging 12k mile per annum is the same as an average family car. I hope this is the mental barrier that’s finally broken.

Nissan have introduced incentives in a number of key markets this october:
– 3500$ cash back in US.
– 3700€ bonus (under some conditions) in France.
– Free charging (analog to “No charge to charge”) in Germany.
– ~3600€ bonus in Spain.

Hope to see kinda chain reaction here where incentives spur sales and high volume sales lead to more incentives.

Agree, it is highly likely (~90%) that global LEAF production has ~7,000 per month.

eg: For N.America the author only includes the 2881 LEAFs delivered in the US for September. Missing are the 113 Canadian LEAFs delivered in Sept; numbers for Mexico, Puerto Rico, etc. Ths places N.America total over 3,000 for Sept.

Over 140,000 LEAFs as of Sept. Since introduction in Dec 2010 (44 months), an average of ~3,200 per month. The average over past 12 months exceeded ~5,500 per month. At 8,300 the annual production rate will exceed 100,000 per year … a first for an all-electric car.

The focus being ‘production capability’ vs. ‘sales volume’. Quarterly and monthly sales data from previous periods are more useful in estimating sales volume.

Multiplying production by 12 provides an upper bound to current annual production capability. The trailing 12 months provide a lower bound estimate … annual sales should land in these bounds should current market and production remain consistent.

Leaf sales have been well ahead of Volt sales for a long time. As of Sept 2014, combined global sales of Volt/Ampera family add up to about 84,000 units, while the Leaf reached 142,000 by mid October, and aiming to reach the 150,000 unit milestone just in time for the fourth anniversary of its launch in Japan and the U.S.

For US, there are ~64,000 LEAF’s vs. ~69,000 Volts with LEAF current LEAF sales exceeding Volt sales by ~500-1000 per month. So expect LEAF sales to exceed Volt sales in all regions in first half of 2015.

Of note, Tesla Model S global deliveries are also expected to exceed Volt deliveries globally in 2015. Currently ~29,000 in US & ~50,000 globally delivered.

Are they sales or leases? That maybe a key item. Tesla sales are also climbing and at record high as they increase production and soon deliver the model X.
In spite of Fracking making NG and OIL lower in cost sales seem very strong and more people are understanding plugging in is very good.

Word of mouth seems to be getting around. I hope that Nissan takes the motor and battery pack of the LEAF and makes a little convertible roadster with it, along the lines of the Mazda Miata. That would be a big hit.

IF electric cars (plug-in car) begin to sell in significant numbers, then one of the side effects is an overall decrease in petroleum consumption and of course less demand means a lower price at the pump. Stabilization of world oil prices is exactly what should happen and is not unexpected. To what degree these sales numbers impact global demand is questionable, but there’s no denying that we are making an impact. Lower pump prices are as a result of many factors, EV sales and usage being one of many. Lower pump prices will almost assuredly affect EV sales, just as Ev sales has had an effect on pump prices.